Display rack



April 28, 1942. E. R, ERICKSON DISPLAY RACK Filed Dec. 12, 1958 Erwz #NVENTOR BY 6b@ W ATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 28, 1942 UITED STATES DISPLAY RACK Ernest R. Erickson, Des Moines, Iowa, assignor to C. E. Erickson Company, Incorporated, Des Moines, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa My invention relates to display racks and particularly those formed generally in the shape of a tray for supporting objects arranged endwise upon them.

Among the objects of my invention is the pro- Vision of .a new and improved display rack eX- tremely simple in construction and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object is the provision of a new and improved display rack comprising in general a tray tiltable in any of a variety of positions provided with supporting means for holding such objects as packaged pies .and cakes-on edge so that they may be tilted against the back of the tray at any of a variety of angles of repose, it 1 being further the object of my invention to so arrange the tilting of the tray that regardless of the angle of repose of the objects .against the back of the tray the objects themselves may be presented in a substantially vertical position.

Still another object is the provision of a new -and improved display rack designed to support objects edgewise in a tilted position which is provided with a plurality of retaining means variously positioned with respect to the rear edge at lf the bottom of the rack in such a manner that a number of objects may be retained in tilted -position thereon in any of several different angles of repose.

A further object is the :provision of a new and l improved display rack adapted to Vbe supported above a similar surface of wider dimension which has incorporated in the supporting means an eX- tendable link for shifting the display rack bodily rearwardly or forwardly in any of its several- A" tilted .positions so that when desired the rear edge may coincide in a vertical direction with the rear edge of the surface beneath or on other occasions the forward edge may coincide vertically with the forward edge of the surface beneath.

rack positioned above and upon a tray serving a similar purpose.

Figure 2 is a side view of the display rack showing the adjustable features.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 3 of Figure 2.

vpresented to the eye of the customer.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view of the tray, and

Figure 5 is a plan view of a portion of the tray.

In recent years it has been found that the packaging of goods is a highly important feature in the sale of such goods, and attractive and unique packaging has been widely resorted to in order to present such goods in `a most `advantageous manner to the purchaser. When attractive packaging is depended upon to draw a customers attention to the goods it becomes important also that these packaged goods be displayed in such a manner that full advantage may be taken of the attractive appearance.

Display racks designed merely to hold packages of goods heaped one upon the other are no longer useful, consequently new types of display racks are necessary in order that these attractive packages may be positioned so that the full effect of the package may appeal at all times to the eye of the prospective purchaser. Damage done by pilling goods one upon the other is thereby eliminated.

Since each individual package in itself must lappeal, a display rack must be built so that as one or more packages are sold and removed from the rack the remaining packages remain neatly stacked in their most attractive positions. By this arrangement torn wrappers which are a frequent source of deterioration and expense when goods are piled one upon the other are reduced to a minimum.

The invention here involved contemplates particularly the idea of displaying goods such as pies, cakes, pastries, etc., ordinarily somewhat fiat in general dimension, upon edge so that the full effect of the package wrapping may always be It must be appreciated further that pies, cakes, pastries, etc., may be of anyV number of sizes so that in standing them on edge it is not always desirable to have the display rack tilted at the same angle since what might be a most advantageous angle for one is not necessarily the best position for another. Consequently, this invention provides means whereby the rack may be tilted at any of a variety of angles so that the objects displayed upon it may be positioned at the angle most ticular instance to show the adaptability of the device the display rack is shown positioned together with a second identical rack I0 of like character positioned at the side of the iirst. The

lower display tray is shown provided with a rim II at the rear and a corresponding rim I3 at the front.

The display rack or tray itself includes a bottom I6, .a rear Wall I8 sloping rearwardly and a front wall 2i] sloping forwardly, the slope of which can be best seen in Figure 2. It will be noted that the rear wall is provided with a somewhat at upper edge 22 while the front wall is provided with a plate or panel 24 attached thereto by means of a screw upon which may be impressed trade names or other advertisingmaterial. At each end of the tray there is provided a, vertical wall 26 to prevent objects displayed thereon from being pushed off the edge.

The bottom, of the tray Ill is provided with a series of projections 28 on the inside surface arrangedY in rows in the embodiment shown, spacedA at various distances from the rear wall. The projections are in fact upset by a stamping operation from the bottom of the tray. As may be seen particularly in Figures 3 and 5, the operation consists in slitting the metal along a straight line and oisetting parts of the metal on one side of the line. At the ends of the slit, the offset portion curves smoothly into the flat portion of theY tray so that there are no corners to catch a cloth when the tray is cleaned', for example.

Depending also from the bottom of the tray are anges 30 positioned one at each end provided with an aperture 32 around which is a series of radial teeth 34. A link 36 is provided which has also at one end an aperture 38 and a corresponding series of radial teeth designed to mesh with the radial teeth 34 when these two parts are drawn together by a bolt 40 in any of a variety of positions. At its other end 42 the link is secured to the top of column I4, or I5, as the case may be,v by means of a bolt 44. There is, moreover, a pair of lugs 46 and 46' on the link designed as stop shoulders, one to limit the rearward' extension of the link and the other to limit the forward extension as best seen in Figure 2, although the link may be adjusted at intermediate positions where the stop shoulders are not in contact.

Operation Let it be assumed for a moment that the objects desired to be displayed upon a rack of the type shown in Figure 1 are rather short such as small square packages of cookies. In such an event the bottom of each object may be retained by one of the projections 28 in the row nearest the rear wall I8 and the objects held reasonably erect without danger of them tipping over the rear wall and falling olf the tray if the objects become disturbed byV one or more of them being removed from the front. As such objects are piled from the rear toward the front a corresponding row of projections may be selected to holdA the bottom edge in such a manner that all are tilted at substantially the same angle of repose. The tilt being only slight with respect to the bottom of the tray in order to have the object presented in a substantially vertical position it is necessary to tilt the bottom of the tray only a slight amount to a position like that shown in Figure 2, or if desired the tray may be tilted back so that it occupies a horizontal position.

Moreover, by reason of the fact that the bottom of each package is separately held in place by one of the projections 28, packages may be removed from the front, or even from the middle of the stack without danger of the packages remaining slipping from their erect positions and falling flat on the tray.

Furthermore, by using this form of the invention the tray may be extended toward the rear so that the rear wall I 8 thereof is practically above the rear rim II of the surface I2 beneath it. Should the tray be positioned above a counter or for some reason it be desired to have it extend forward, then the link 36 may be rotated to the dotted position shown in Figure 2 and the tray extended correspondingly in a forward direction though it isV to be borne in mind that the tilt of the tray itself may be made to remain at any desired angle.

If, for example, the objects to be supported upon the tray are relatively high when stood edgewise such as large pies for example it may be desirable to use the second, third or even the fourth row of the projections 28 from the rear wall in order to retain the bottom of the first row of objects so that distance between the bottorn and the top edge of the rear wall may be great so as to prevent the object from tipping over the rear. In order that such long dimensioned objects may be displayed in a substantially vertical position it becomes necessary to tilt the tray at a considerably greater angle. It will become apparent therefore that regardless of what the relative height of objects displayed edgewise upon the rack they may be rested against the rear wall of the tray at a safe angle of repose with relation to the bottom of the tray and at the same time the tray itself may be tilted up at a suicient angle so that the objects are presented in an almost vertical position to prospective buyers.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my device without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by myclaims any modied forms of structure, or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. A display rack for supporting packaged goods on edge comprising a tray having a rear wall and a flat bottom provided with relatively low projections spaced at various distances from the rear wall adapted to hold the lower edges of packaged goods at different distances from the rear wall so that they may span intermediate projections and be supported in any tilted position within a range of selected angles of repose, said projections consisting of upstruck portions in said bottom adjacent to straight line slits formed in said bottom parallel to said rear wall.

2. In a display device, a tray having a rear edge, a bottom provided with projections spaced at various distances from the rear edge to retain the lower ends of displayed objects in various tilted positions supported by said rear edge and by said projections, said projections consisting of upwardly raised portions of said bottom adjacent to slits formed therein substantially parallel to said rear edge supporting columns for holding the tray above a supporting surface and a link for each column having an adjustable pivotal connection with the column and a second adjustable pivotal connection with the tray for extending the tray in a desired tilted position rearwardly or forwardly.

3. In a display device, a tray having an upstanding rear edge, a bottom provided with Aupstanding projections spaced at various distances from the rear edge to retain the lower ends of displayed objects in various tilted positions supported by said rear edge, downwardly extending anges on said tray, supporting members for holding the tray above a supporting surface and a link for each supporting member having an adjustable pivotal connection with the member and a second ladjustable pivotal connection with one of said flanges for extending the tray in a desired tilted position rearwardly or forwardly, and stop means on the links for limiting the forward and rearward adjustments of the links in relation to said supporting members.

4. A display rack for supporting packaged goods on edge comprising a tray having a bottom and an upstanding-rear wall, and rows of straight line slits formed in said bottom along lines parallel to said rear wall, the bottom of said tray adjacent said slits, on the sides thereof opposite said rear Wall, being upstruck from the plane of said bottom.

5. A package display device comprising a tray, a bottom plate therein, a longitudinally extending supporting member adjacent one side of said bottom plate, and straight line slits in said base plate along lines parallel to said supporting member, the portions of said plate adjacent to said slits, on thesides thereof opposite said supporting member, being deformed upwardly from the plane of said plate.

ERNEST R. ERICKSON. 

